top of page
davidahallnum5
Apr 9, 20239 min read

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 3D Blu-ray Review

MOVIE REVIEW

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a 2016 Star Wars movie which acts as the prequel to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. If you remember that 1977 classic well, you'll recall a scene in which the Rebels are seen sharing plans they have received which instruct them on how to blow up the Death Star. The film Rogue One is about how the Rebels got ahold of those plans. And it involves a story about a broken family, betrayal, trust, and one woman's determination to fight that persists against impossible odds.

Rogue One has come out around seven years ago now and nowadays, not very many people tend to talk about it. Honestly, that's a bit of a shame because of all the recent Star Wars movies that have come out since Disney took over, this one not only seems like least unnecessary in the grand scheme of the Star Wars universe, but it's also the most entertaining and emotionally engaging.

Now coming in, it helps to remember that this film is going to be on the slightly darker side of things. True, Star Wars has been known for being a series of movies that essentially, the whole family can watch together. More recently, Star Wars has been going the PG-13 route with much of their new content, even though the majority of it, though, is still pretty PG in essence. However, unlike the majority of it, Rogue One deserves that rating and the more mature tone the movie carries. Right at the start, we see a young version of our main protagonist, Jyn, having to run away from her parents when her father is forcefully recruited to work on the Death Star by the Empire and her mother is killed trying to prevent that from being so. While some might say that sounds like the kind of standard backstory of a young rebellious protagonist, I personally think it helps to give the story some kind of emotional depth that was sorely lacking in The Force Awakens, and it prevents the story from becoming similarly bland.

Happily, the plot that follows keeps the momentum going. Jyn remains an interesting and developing character throughout the film. And as we move forward, we get introduced to new characters and personalities that, while not are quite as iconic as Luke Skywalker or C-3PO, are remarkably quite easy to invest in, even if you probably won't remember their names. No one sits around waiting for things to happen and all pretty much play an active role in the story. The acting all around is pretty on point, especially from Felicity Jones. K-2SO provides some good comic relief while not being too overbearing. People like Cassian, the Rebel Intelligence officer who stays by Jyn's side most of the movie, Chirrut Îmwe, the blind man who trusts the force, and Baze Malbus, his mercenary buddy, all play their parts excellently and make for likable characters.

As for the plot itself, sure, no one was probably asking for movie that described how the Rebels got the plans to the Death Star. But for a film based on this premise, Rogue One plays it the best way it knows how. Like I said, the main characters are part of what the film very engaging. But the actual events that take place in the story build into a pretty solid narrative and do so in an entertaining fashion. The action sequences are great, especially in the third act, the stakes the movie set up are genuinely huge, the emotional moments hit, and because of the darker tone, the terror the bad guys give off actually feels like terror. And when Darth Vader makes his brief cameos, you will believe it.

If I had anything to complain about with the film, it would probably be that much of the dialogue isn't really given out in an engaging way. And that can sometimes make the story a little hard to follow at times. Besides that, there are also a couple stretches, especially in the middle part of the movie, when the story feels like it's dragging.

However, both of these minor qualities don't take away from the good aspects about the film. Does Rogue One stand there with greatness that is the original Star Wars trilogy? Probably not. But then again, ever since Disney acquired Star Wars, it seemed like nothing they've put out has been able to. However, I still had plenty of fun with Rogue One. For every one thing it gets wrong, it gets three more things right. Even after the hype has worn down for the Star Wars franchise, it still remains a great, maybe even somewhat underrated, entry in the Star Wars universe. You know, it's honestly a bit funny how Star Wars during the late 2010s were trying to push Rey as the face of Star Wars although as a character, she was serviceable at best. Meanwhile, Rogue One does actually have a strong and genuinely interesting female protagonist, among a group of other enjoyable characters, but *SPOILER WARNING* she, and everyone else, barely even last the span of the movie. *SPOILER END* Just a thought. Maybe that's part of Rogue One's charm, as you know that with the way the movie turns out, Disney hasn't, and probably will continue not to, milk it for all its worth and instead, just let it sit there as a solid standalone movie.


OVERALL FILM RATING: 4/5


3D REVIEW

If you've read my review for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, you'll know that that movie's 3D is some of the best I've ever seen. So naturally, I haven't really expected subsequent movies in the Star Wars universe to live up to it. However, I'm pretty sure in most people's minds, it might've been the opposite case, because Rogue's One 3D over the years has garnered some mixed opinions. In a way, I can kinda see why, as the 3D conversion is a bit unimpressive and pretty largely unnecessary. But it also does so many things right that I can't help but go a bit easy on it.

Now as for the things it does right, the main aspect to focus on here is depth, and there is a lot of it, probably almost as much as The Force Awakens. Is the depth as expertly utilized here as with that movie? No. But with the world of Star Wars already having much to offer in the third dimension, it does make the ample depth very appreciable. Throughout the movie, we get landscapes and wide shots that do on for miles in every direction. Right from the start of the film, we get wide mountainous views where the ground's surreal shapes are immediately brought to life in 3D. Deserts look similarly great. And scenes that involve large buildings also look mesmerizing with the extra dimension. There are a couple of scenes in which the Death Star gets used on a planet and the ginormous rising piles of debris, fire, dirt, and dust on the horizon coming close to the screen make especially captivating use of 3D. The climax at the end on the beach-like planet with its trees, foliage, water, and long backgrounds use the 3D properly. And scenes involving space do make for a few interesting shots, particularly when the depth is used to enhance the size, scale, and shape of the Death Star.

On the ground, the 3D conversion is still very clean, almost never giving off a cardboard cutout effect. And they are still quite a few good scenes where the depth provided by 3D makes for an engaging experience. There are a few main shots in particular that serve a good example of this. One is near the beginning when a character opens up a circular hatch and the camera is looking up out of the hatch as the person is looking down at you. Others include some Star Wars-esque prisons and Star Wars-esque prison bars. And a few even includes some neon green maps in the background of a couple of scenes. Towns look big and vast in certain scenes. Certain buildings and rooms, especially in the climax, have some top-down or top-up views with help to exemplify how huge they are. While having everyone and everything take up its own separate space doesn't really sound like a huge deal, some shots such as one at the beginning featuring a group of storm troopers make good use of it. The insides of space vessels, rooms, and other places carry surreal shapes and look larger in 3D than in their 2D counterpart.

There are some good action sequences that also use 3D to its advantage. In space, we get spaceships in their own place on the z-axis flying across the screen. And a couple of them even run into each other in an important story moment. Lasers move back and forth throughout the screen, dust and dirt fly in a couple spots, large droids, and camera motions that allow for some great 3D composition. As for pop outs, there aren't a lot. But we do get some good shots where guns protrude the screen and a few explosions come right out at you.

Now of course, for all the praise I have given Rogue One for its 3D, it's not entirely flawless. The major problem I run into is that the picture is often very dark, especially at the beginning. It is quite impressive how the details still remain intact in spite of the dimly lit scenes. But the darkness still caused me a deal of eye strain, which is something I don't usually get with 3D movies. While I did get through the movie fine even with the dampened brightness, the consistency of the darkly lit scenes combined with a couple scenes that went really dark made the experience much less fun then it should have been. And unlike A Christmas Carol where the darkness is made up for in clever utilizations of the 3D technology, Rogue One seems like it wasn't filmed with 3D in mind. Granted, enough good chunks of the movie work in 3D anyway due to its settings, scope, and surreal sci-fi structures. But with the way the camera tracks certain objects or places the camera in certain areas that don't allow much in the way of 3D composition, there's a sense that of all the visual aspects the filmmakers were trying to successfully pull off, 3D wasn't one of them. Even for the few pop outs the film delivers, the guns are often still pretty out of focus. In fact, many of the background shots during the more modest scenes are quite out of focus. The conversion crew definitely works with the best they have. But with out of focus shots, the 3D doesn't do the eyes much favor and can even make the 3D feel a bit ultimately useless.

So, yeah. I can see how plenty of people can see Rogue One's 3D as a mixed bag. There is a pervading sense that the film wasn't made with 3D in mind. And with the darkness being the way it is, it certainly won't be rivaling many of the much more impressive 3D outputs of the last few years. That being said, I still think it's a solid 3D movie overall. Yes, the parts where the 3D don'ts come into play do get my nerves a bit. But at the same time, the sheer amount of effort put into all the details of all the frames with this conversion prevent it from being bad by any means, as is the case with most 3D movies these days considering how far conversions have come. And in some places, the 3D can even shine in ways that its 2D counterpart often doesn't, especially in the third act. I guess the choice is ultimately yours. If you like to pick up 3D films you know you'll be watching again and again, Rogue One probably might not be the choice for you. But if you're looking for a 3D outing that'll deliver some good thrills and not aggravate you too much in the in-between times, this title might be worth a spot in your 3D collection.


3D RATING: GOOD


OTHER SOURCES THAT REVIEW THIS MOVIE'S 3D:







FINAL THOUGHTS


Rogue One isn't one of the greatest Star Wars movies ever. But as a standalone side adventure from the universe that seeks to explain a plot detail some fans might have addressed to in the original 1977 Star Wars: A New Hope, I'd say it's a pretty darn good film. The story this time around actually serves the legacy of the original Star Wars movies rather than tarnishes them, the characters are engaging, especially the protagonist Jyn, the action sequences are fantastic, and a couple of cameos from Darth Vader come in to ensure you'll leave Rogue One having had a great time. While there may have been a few things that would've been worth tweaking, mainly in the dialogue, the overall product still stands well enough and deserves a watch for any hardcore Star Wars fan, or casual Star Wars enjoyer. As for the 3D version? I recommend it. It does have some flaws that are worth looking out for, and the 3D experience overall might be not be incredible. But it's still a very clean conversion and there are definitely times when the size and scope of the movie are made much more evident by the 3D. All in all, I'd say if you're a 3D fanatic, Rogue One will probably satisfy your needs. If you're only an occasional 3D moviegoer though, maybe give this one a bit more thought before making a decision.


BUY THE MOVIE HERE


DID YOU LIKE "ROGUE ONE: A STAR WAR STORY" IN 3D

  • 0%Yes

  • 0%No


Comments

bottom of page